Tailstrike
Encyclopedia
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
term that describes an event in which the rear end of an aircraft touches (strikes) the runway. This can happen during takeoff
Takeoff
Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle goes from the ground to flying in the air.For horizontal takeoff aircraft this usually involves starting with a transition from moving along the ground on a runway. For balloons, helicopters and some specialized fixed-wing aircraft , no...
of a fixed-wing aircraft
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
if the pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
pulls up too rapidly, leading to the rear end of the fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
touching the runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
. It can also occur during landing
Landing
thumb|A [[Mute Swan]] alighting. Note the ruffled feathers on top of the wings indicate that the swan is flying at the [[Stall |stall]]ing speed...
if the pilot flares
Landing
thumb|A [[Mute Swan]] alighting. Note the ruffled feathers on top of the wings indicate that the swan is flying at the [[Stall |stall]]ing speed...
too aggressively. This is often the result of an attempt to land nearer to the runway threshold
Displaced threshold
A displaced threshold is a runway threshold located at a point other than the physical beginning or end of the runway. The portion of the runway so displaced may be used for takeoff but not for landing...
.
A tailstrike is physically possible only on an aircraft with tricycle landing gear; with a tail dragger configuration, the tail is already on the ground. Some aircraft, which require a high angle of attack
Angle of attack
Angle of attack is a term used in fluid dynamics to describe the angle between a reference line on a lifting body and the vector representing the relative motion between the lifting body and the fluid through which it is moving...
on takeoff, are fitted with small tailwheels to prevent tailstrikes. Examples include the Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
and Saab Draken. Some aircraft, such as the Diamond Aircraft Industries
Diamond Aircraft Industries
Diamond Aircraft Industries is an Austrian-based manufacturer of general aviation aircraft and motor gliders, which also has a large manufacturing facility in London, Ontario, Canada...
Diamond DA20
Diamond DA20
The Diamond DA20 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation aircraft designed for flight training. In addition to its role as a civil and military training aircraft, it is also used for personal flying by pilot-owners.-Development:...
, have a permanent skid installed to protect the airframe in the event of a tailstrike. Others may be fitted with a temporary skid as tailstrikes are sometimes purposefully carried out during the certification of new aircraft.
Tailstrike incidents rarely cause significant damage or cause danger, but may cause financial losses as the planes have to be thoroughly inspected and repaired.
However, improper repair to the damaged airframe after tailstrikes accidents may be responsible for fatal accidents that occur years later (including the worst single-aircraft accident as of 2010, the accident involving the Japan Airlines Flight 123
Japan Airlines Flight 123
Japan Airlines Flight 123 was a Japan Airlines domestic flight from Tokyo International Airport to Osaka International Airport on August 12, 1985. The Boeing 747-146SR that made this route, registered , suffered mechanical failures 12 minutes into the flight and 32 minutes later crashed into two...
) due to structural failure of the airframe at the site of the tailstrike after repeated cycles of pressurization and depressurization at the weak point of improper repair.
See also
Tailstrike on takeoff:- Emirates Airline Flight 407
Cases of improper repair after a tailstrike causing fatal structural failure in flight years after the tailstrike:
- Japan Airlines Flight 123Japan Airlines Flight 123Japan Airlines Flight 123 was a Japan Airlines domestic flight from Tokyo International Airport to Osaka International Airport on August 12, 1985. The Boeing 747-146SR that made this route, registered , suffered mechanical failures 12 minutes into the flight and 32 minutes later crashed into two...
- China Airlines Flight 611China Airlines Flight 611China Airlines Flight 611 was a regularly scheduled flight from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taoyuan to Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong...
External links
- Boeing 777, Saudi Arabian Airlines - near tailstrike from Airliners.netAirliners.netAirliners.net is an aviation website founded by Johan Lundgren, Sweden, in 1997, evolving from his previous Pictures of Modern Airliners site started in 1994...
- McDonnell Douglas MD-82, Scandinavian Airlines - tailstrike from Jetphotos.net